College Campus Relocating In Carbon County

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JIM THORPE -- Students at a college in Carbon County will have a new place to call home this winter.

Lehigh Carbon Community College will be moving from the campus in Nesquehoning to Jim Thorpe.

Lehigh Carbon Community College has been in a strip mall in Nesquehoning since 1999. Students will only be in those classrooms a little bit longer. In January, classes will move to a different building in Jim Thorpe.

"I think it's moving the college to the center of the county, providing the northern part of the county to what community colleges can do," said LCCC Director Jeanne Miller.

School officials say they were able to make this happen by partnering with the Jim Thorpe Area School District. The college campus will move into a wing at the Jim Thorpe Area High School.

Even though the community college will be located in the Jim Thorpe Area High School in January, faculty and staff want students to know it will still feel like a college campus.

"We're going to invest in this part of the facility and make it as if they're walking into any other state school on a campus."

Jim Thorpe Area School District Superintendent Dr. Barbara Conway says she's excited. She says this is a step up for the community and a good way to appeal to local high school students.

"I think it will be a draw for them, an incentive for them, and the opportunity to move forward. I think it's great."

Newswatch 16 talked to some college students, who have mixed reactions about moving to a new building.

"Even though it is in a strip mall, it feels like a campus," said Kumra Vukelj of Nesquehoning.

"I live in Albrightsville which is about half an hour from here or so, as far as Jim Thorpe, it is probably about 20 minutes so I am probably saving myself another 10 minutes," said Beth Ansari of Albrightsville.

School officials say in January the college will offer additional computer classes and new courses like criminal justice and early childhood education. Until then, renovations will be done before the campus opens on January 10.